Idman.biz
Half of the intense season in world judo is behind us. The ranking tables have also been updated, and the balance of power has changed quite interestingly. Ahead lies a difficult struggle for our Olympic champions to regain lost ground.
Idman.biz reports that with the start of the new Olympic cycle, the ranking tables are also updated, and the results achieved in previous years gradually lose their ranking significance.
This is also evident in the case of Hidayat Heydarov (73 kg). He became the champion of the world and European championships, as well as the Summer Olympic Games, last year. After the victory in Paris, he only participated in the World Championships in Budapest and lost in the first match. Therefore, it was expected that our judoka would soon lose his leadership in the ranking. As a result, Japanese Tatsuki Ishihara rose to the top, while Heydarov is now in 6th place, only one step ahead of his teammate Rashid Mammadaliyev. Our Olympic champion is only 780 points behind Ishihara. In general, the fight for leadership is heating up again in all weight categories for the new era.
For example, in the 90 kg weight category, Eljan Hajiyev made a serious leap and rose to second place. He is only behind Olympic finalist Japanese Sanshiro Murao. Georgians Luka Maisuradze and Lasha Bekauri follow Hajiyev. Eljan's rise is based on recent results - victory at the "Grand Slam" tournament in Dushanbe and winning a bronze medal at the World Championships.
Zelim Tckaev in the 81 kg weight category also has good prospects - he also rose to second place. Tckaev, the bronze medalist of the World Championship, surpassed multiple world champion Georgian Tato Grigalashvili, two-time Olympic champion Japanese Takanori Nagase, and Belgian Matthias Casse. But the difference between him and the leader Timur Arbuzov (IJF) is 1061 points.
On the other hand, Olympic champion Zelim Kotsoev (100 kg) is in the top three. The athlete, who had a satisfactory season after Paris-2024, won a silver medal at the European Championship and a bronze medal at the World Championship. New successful results have been very important for him in terms of ranking points. In this weight category, leadership passed to Matvey Kanikovsky (IJF), and second place is Japanese Dota Arai.
In the light and semi-light weight categories, our athletes need to develop further. Balaghey Agayev (60 kg) is 9th, and Ruslan Pashayev (66 kg) is 16th.
In the heavyweight category, Ushangi Kokauri moved up six places to 10th place, surpassing two-time Olympic champion Czech Lukas Krpalek.
Japanese representatives have taken the lead in the ranking tables. Four Japanese judokas are first in their category.
Most of the Azerbaijani athletes are in the top 8, which means they have the status of being selected in the competitions. Successful results and quality competition increase the ranking - which will play an increasingly important role in the selection stage for the upcoming Olympics.
Zaki Feyzullayev
Idman.biz
